9 May 2021

Ocean City, NJ

by | posted in: City Docs | 1

OCEAN CITY, NJ

Ocean City, NJ is a beach town on the Jersey Shore known for its gorgeous white sand beaches and electric boardwalk. My friend Meghan’s connection to Ocean City goes back generations and she considers it a home away from home. Check out her tips for how to make the best of your Ocean City trip. Happy Traveling!

Travel Tip:
  • The fewer cars you can bring the better. Street parking is hard to get and once you get there you’re not going to want to move your car. Most of Ocean City is walkable or bikeable.
One fun thing:
  • Biking is the easiest and most fun way to get around. Whether it’s for an early morning bike ride on the boardwalk to beat the crowds, to get to the beach, shops, or the bay, embrace the bike!
  • Airbnb & Vrbo: for shorter or more flexible stays. These go early so book in advance!
  • More Traditional Rentals: Typical rentals go weekly, Saturday to Saturday and you have to be out early. These tend to be a bit more expensive, but offer prime locations and nice houses. 
  • Beaches:  the main attraction in OCNJ! The insider’s tip here is to avoid the beaches right along the Boardwalk. Those beaches are really crowded and fill up quickly.  Instead, try any beaches north of North Street and south of 23rd street. The beaches stretch pretty wide south of 23rd St. in particular. Make sure to get a beach tag whether it’s a weekly pass or a daily pass. They are required and the beach taggers will find you if you don’t have one. 
  • Boardwalk: a 2.5-mile-long boardwalk with shops, restaurants, small amusement parks, and more. It’s especially fun at night. Some of the favorite things to do at night include going mini-golfing (multiple locations), grabbing an ice cream, and just walk along the path taking in all the bright lights and attractions. There are also two amusement parks geared towards a younger crowd, but can still be fun. Tickets can be a bit pricey.
  • Beachy Tiki: a 40-foot catamaran that takes people out along the water. Choose your time of day, there are cruises for morning, afternoon, evening and night! They have a great sound system, cooler and even a bathroom on board. You can BYOB and food.

Spend the day on the bayside water: where you can find watersports to keep you entertained for hours! Walk or bike (2nd street – 6th street along Bay Ave.) so you don’t have to worry about parking. Options include:

  • Ocean City Sailing Foundation: to live out your sailing dreams. If you’ve ever wanted to learn to sail, you and up to ~5 friends can take a two-hour private lesson on a 14 ft sailboat out on the bay. You can schedule lessons throughout the week (9AM – 6PM) or on Saturday mornings.
  • Totally Tubular Watersports: your one-stop-shop for everything watersports. You can rent an activity by the hour for tubing, water skiing, wakeboarding, and more. For the younger crowd, they have a big floating water park structure off the dock in the Bay.
  • Bayview Marina/Baycats: for even more watersports. You can rent jet skis, kayaks, paddleboards, Hobie Cats, and more. Be prepared that the current on the bay is strong — be prepared to get in an arm workout!
North Street Beach
Boardwalk
  • Brown’s: a casual breakfast spot serving delicious donuts and diner-type food. It’s always crowded, so be prepared to wait in line but you can sit down in the restaurant if they have room. The most popular thing to get there and what everyone stands in line for are the donuts. Try the warm cinnamon sugar donut. If you’re feeling adventurous, try the scrapple (it’s a Philly thing).
  • Jon & Patty’s: a sit-down restaurant on Asbury Street in the town center. They have fun and unique specialty coffee drinks like the Milky Way (chocolate & caramel) and the Pirate Special (coconut, vanilla and cinnamon). They are also open and good for lunch and dinner.
  • Dockside Kitchen: a sit-down restaurant right along the bay on a deck right on the water. Their freshly squeezed orange juice is very tasty. Try their fluffy pancakes too.
  • Voltaco’s: for a cheesesteak. There are a bunch of places that serve cheesesteaks (do not call it a steak and cheese!),  but Voltaco’s one of the best. There are many easy grab-and-go options if you’re headed for the beach. (but beware of seagulls — they are not afraid to swipe your food if you’re eating lunch on the beach).
  • Piccinni: a local favorite. It was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. They serve great pasta and seafood dishes.
  • Yianni’s Cafe: a Greek restaurant on Asbury Ave. It is the perfect place to stop by after shopping, or on your way to the beach after a day by the water. Try the Greek Gyro, a personal favorite. Great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 
  • Manco & Manco or Express Pizza or Three Brothers Pizza: the go-to pizza spots. Grab a pie or two, bring some drinks and head to the beach to watch the sun go down. The sun goes down over the bay (not the beach), but the whole sky lights up.
  • The Knife & Fork: a classy establishment in an old historic inn. If you’re going to Atlantic City for the night, book a reservation for dinner. Can’t go wrong with anything on the menu — but plan in advance, this restaurant fills up on the weekends!
  • The Clam Bar (“Smittys”): a casual spot for seafood. It’s over the bridge in Somers Point and is a fun place to have dinner with friends. It’s always packed and doesn’t take reservations, so expect a long wait. If you want to drive, they have a large parking lot next door, where you can always tailgate with drinks and apps while you wait.

  • Kohr Bros: rich frozen custard perfect for a hot day. They have around 4 locations up and down the boardwalk.
  • Johnson’s Popcorn: caramel popcorn that’s to die for. Eat the popcorn hot and fresh out the scoop! There are 3 storefronts on the boardwalk.
Kohr Bros Custard
  • Atlantic City: a 20-25 minute drive from Ocean City, Atlantic City is easy to get to by car, Uber or Lyft. Casinos like The Tropicana, Caesars and Bally’s are always fun, and right along the boardwalk so you can pop in and out of other places. Pro tip: there are free drinks if you’re gambling!
  • The Point: a tiki bar on the water right over the bridge in Somers Point. There’s a sandpit, lawn games, beach chairs and a dance floor. Some nights they have live music. Open starting in the afternoon. Good for a lowkey night with friends.

Disclaimer: Ocean City is a dry town, meaning you can’t buy alcohol in the town (no liquor stores, and not alcohol at restaurants), but there is a liquor store over almost every bridge as soon as you drive over. Stock up on your way

  1. Wildest Boar
    |

    These travel blogs are AMAZING. Really enjoy the concept of this website. Oftentimes we turn to Google for things to do when we visit a new city, but our friends who have grown up in the city or lived in the city are the ones we should really turn to. However, many of us do not have friends that span every city in the United States, let alone the world. Travel Like Mad gives us more “friends” to turn to.

    Each blog thus far has been packed with tons of useful tips, while at the same time streamlined and fun to follow. Travelers can honestly plan an entire trip with just this one website. Travel Like Mad>Trip Advisor/Yelp. Looking forward to where this website goes!